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Opinion Contributor

‘Dash to gas’ has downside for energy policy

A long-term run on natural gas use could have significant implications, the author writes. | AP Photo

By CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN | 4/14/13 9:23 PM EDT

America is hyperfocused on fiscal matters, but some efforts to save money in the short term may cost us more in the future.

Energy production is one such area. The shale gas revolution has spawned another American “dash to gas” in the electric sector. This is a mixed issue, based on whether you take the short- or long-term view. In the short term, consumers benefit from lower natural gas prices and our air quality benefits from energy-sector fuel switching from coal to gas for electricity production.

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However, there could be significant ramifications from a long-term run on natural gas use for electricity, including the prospective loss of the fuel diversity that protects consumers from rapid or wild swings in any single fuel source used to generate power.

The decision to focus solely on cheap natural gas instead of investing for the long term in a diverse portfolio of affordable electricity options will prove problematic in the coming years.

A white paper released March 20 by the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition explores the barriers that such an approach creates and offers perspective on long-term energy diversification. The paper examines the important role of nuclear energy as part of a diverse portfolio in providing clean, reliable, affordable electricity while providing a hedge against price volatility in the gas markets — which already are becoming more volatile — and providing more than 60 percent of America’s carbon-free power.

Nuclear energy facilities are built to last, with three-quarters of U.S. reactors now licensed to operate for up to 60 years. They rely largely on uranium, which has no other commercial use and is relatively cheap and stable in price. The cost of nuclear energy is comparatively inexpensive and is not subject to the same severe cost fluctuations that plague other sources.

But taking advantage of cleaner, affordable and safe nuclear energy means building the facilities necessary to generate that power in the future. America’s reactors have become more efficient in recent years, with ever-increasing operating efficiencies equal to adding 26 new reactors to the power grid. But these efficiencies are tapped out, and we are at a crossroad on how best to manage the electric generation options that will power our nation into the coming decades.

That’s where there is potential to lose sight of the big picture.

At the moment, the shale gas revolution has driven down the cost of natural gas. In addition, fuel switching to natural gas from coal has resulted in a 30 percent increase in U.S. coal exports to the European Union for electricity production (despite Kyoto Protocol commitments).